Today is 20-10-2010
On this day in 1947, working-class Malayans
began the long battle for freedom
As well as the struggle against Umno domination
Film-maker and activist Fahmi Reza’s prize-winning short film Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka tells the story of the Hartal, the general strike that united the people of Malaya of all communities in protest against the proposed Federation of Malaya and the Umno-backed constitution, 10 years before independence.
The hartal called for offices and shops to be closed for the day and protests and demonstrations were held in major towns such as Penang, Teluk Anson, Kuantan and Singapore.
The movement against the Umno-backed constitution had brought together the first Malay political groups, the Malay Nationalist Party and the Malayan Democratic Union, formed before Umno was established; the two parties were joined by unionists, the Malayan Indian Congress, Straits Chinese, Ceylon Tamils, and other organisations, bringing together all communities in a united front.
Ten years after independence, in 1967, the Socialist Front coalition of the Labour Party and the Parti Rakyat, called for another hartal in protest against Britain’s devaluation of the pound sterling and the parallel devaluation of the Malaysian dollar which was then tied to the pound. One dollar issued by the Currency Board became worth 85 cents to the dollar issued by Bank Negara Malaysia. The 1967 hartal was only partly successful, being aimed at the Umno-Alliance government; tragically, race riots broke out in major towns of the west coast over two weeks.
Today, to mark the 20-10 anniversary of the original Hartal, Fahmi Reza has asked for public support of his proposal that 20th October be marked as a public holiday in commemoration of the day people of all communities united in common cause of freedom.
courtesy of uppercaise
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.